oldies : how to put on weight ?????

[JAGER BOMB :)]

hi everyone. just looking for a bit of advice really...

i have just took in a 16 odd hand (would say he is a cob cross looking at his build and feather.) he is about 25 yrs old. and need some condition putting on him.

he isnt ribby BUT his belly is dipped and his spine is very obvious and where his hips meet his stomach he is thin (hope this makes sense ) he needs a bit of top line and a bit of fat putting on him....

atm he is on all the grass he can eat (he is in a summer sheet during the day and a light fill turn out on a night ) has a field shelter and 3 acres to himself of fresh grass which has shot up through the past 2 weeks or so.

he is also having 2 feeds a day _ conditioning mix, handful of h&p cubes, alfa-a-oil a cup of soaked sugar beet and pink powder (along with some seaweed and garlic ) only had him for a few days so not seen any results as yet although he does seem happier about himself. any other suggestions (he is allergic to hay) and vet advised not to give him hayladge as may be too rich for him atm.

thanks for reading

 

[wellsat]

Micronised linseed and yea sacc.

 

[Sukistokes2]

My 31 year old has calm and conditioner, I think they do a vetern to. Nice and sloppy, great when you only have two teeth! I like it because you can feed it warm when the weather is cold. I also use a vetern dengie product which can be used as a hay replacment. I also add corn oil as well, great for the joints and lots of calories!

 

[ladyt25]

Our oldies do really well on Allen & Page's Old Faithful. There are so many specialist feeds on te market these days it is very hard. Years back we fed our oldies of a mix of stud cubes and high fibre nuts plus sugar beet and they did pretty well on that but that was soaked as they were pretty toothless!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Our oldie is doing very well on grassnut mash with Graze-on chaff and a couple of (dry) handsful of Speedibeet with Linseed oil and a glug of molasses. This with hay/lage has put her weight back on after a nasty colic and is maintaining her weight now. We have used A&P and Bailey's no.1 for oldies in the past but prefer this regime as it's cereal free, so easier to digest.

 

[fatpiggy]

He needs bulk, not calories. You need to be feeding him at least 2% of his current body weight daily. Mine is 29 and can only manage a little hay due to her elderly teeth, she also has Cushings so sugar and starch is out but she is doing fine on two feeds a day of unbranded hi-fibre nuts, a small scoop of Sure Grow (very nutrient dense - don't we all end up like babies again when we get old), some Speedibeet but not much as she doesn't like it much, plus a bucket full of Happy Hoof. I only give her one pad of hay per day and she only eats about half of that overnight. At the moment she is in at night but should be going out 24/7 shortly. Her ribs are not seen but clearly felt although she does have a bit of a pointy bum and goes in a bit in front of her hips, but as she has bad arthritis I don't want her carrying too much weight.

 

[*hic*]

If he were mine I'd try upping the sugar beet, adding in barley rings and feeding three times a day. I'd also be watching him carefully to see whether he is eating much grass or just picking at it.